musings by michelle

I blinked and it’s suddenly been a year since Hope was born. Life in our house is busy. Busy and beautiful and adorable and frustrating and hilarious and infuriating and lovely. Our two girls change every day… Hope has transitioned from a crawler to a walker in the last three days, it seems; and Norah is saying new things and understanding new concepts and asking new questions every day.

Everyone who meets Hope says, “She’s so happy!” and asks, “Does she ever cry?” The answer is yes, of course, but not often. Though the last few weeks have been a bit different as she’s been growing neurons and muscles to walk, growing like a weed, and sprouting FIVE teeth at the same time. After sleeping solidly all through the night for the last six months (how lucky are we???), she’s been waking up once or twice a night hungry for a couple of weeks.

Hope’s favorite thing continues to be her big sister. Any time Norah gives Hope some attention, Hope just glows. She thinks Norah is hilarious and will simply crack up if she even looks at her. It’s just about the best sound in the world when they both get into a giggle fit together. Even Norah is impressed with Hope’s newest skills, and we often hear Norah say, “LOOK! Hope’s walking!” She seems thrilled by this development and seems excited to learn that Hope will one day be able to run and talk, too. It’s in these moments that we are so glad that the girls are so close together in age.

Then there are the moments when we’re not so glad. When Hope is fussy and clingy because her gums hurt, and Norah is throwing her 18th tantrum of the day for some reason like she doesn’t like the socks she picked out, and we’re just trying to make some dinner that both of them will eat, and at this point they’re so hangry that they won’t eat anything anyway.

Perhaps the most difficult part of the day, for me, is bedtime. Norah is in a stage where she cries and screams for about an hour every night in her bed. She wants us to sing another song, or turn on/off her fan, or find X toy to come to bed with her, or JUST DON’T LEAVE! Internet searches reassure me because so many other parents experience the same thing at this age, but frustrate me because we’ve done all the recommendations… we have a solid bedtime routine, we let her make small choices at bedtime (What toothbrush do you want to use? Which jammies do you want?), and we stick to the same bedtime every night. After a full day of toddler wrangling and a full-time job, I need to sit down and do some reading and assignments for a class I’m taking, and all I can hear is her screaming. Agony! And we wonder… do we let her cry? Should we go to her and sing another song? What’s the right thing to do? How do we make this stop???! It’s a very difficult way to end every day. I know… this too shall pass. But not soon enough.

We’ve made efforts to fully enjoy this summer — camping trips around Colorado, and visits to the pool. Hope still hates getting in a pool, but Norah has fully warmed up to it. Norah loves playing with two little girls that live across the street, Natalie and Josie, and will beg to go out and play if she sees that they’re home. The backyard also gets lots of use for outdoor play time. They both love their water table, Norah loves the kiddie pool, and they both love the little swing that hangs from a tree. Norah “helps” in the garden and so far she’s the only one who has tasted our strawberries. They must be good!